Blog Post for: Kathryn Henderson, PhD
07/17/2007 | Kathryn Henderson, PhD
Lost Cause?
In last weekend’s New York Times Magazine there appeared an article on global warming. The gist of the article was that, at this point, global warming is inevitable, there is little we can do on any level to change the trend, so we might as well not let such worries get in the way of our enjoyment of today – my apologies to the author for over-simplification of his thesis but global warning is not my particular interest here. My interest is (surprise!) its potential application to the obesity epidemic.
Like global warming, the problem of obesity can seem so huge as to be virtually insurmountable. Like global warming, its causes are complex, thus it is difficult to hold a single entity accountable. Consequently, it can seem pointless to pursue any effort at change: organizing a walking school bus or increasing consumption of fruit in the schools seems like a drop in the bucket. This “lost cause” mentality may be our biggest enemy yet…okay, not bigger than Coke or McDonald’s, but you get my point…
